A new portal allowing African citizens to speak out against corruption - backed by several news organisations - has hit the World Wide Web.
The site, afriLeaks.org, allows people to "leak confidential documents of public interest". It says it has designed a system that helps people share information, while at the same time protecting their identity.
"AfriLeaks is run by an alliance of African news organisations that are committed to speaking truth to power. You will be able to send us documents and select which of our member organisations should investigate it.
"This site also helps you to stay in touch and answer further questions without revealing your name or contact information."
Among the news organisations partnering with the initiative are SA's Mail & Guardian, the Botswana Guardian, The Zimbabwean and Zambian Watchdog.
AfriLeaks, a joint project of the African Network of Centers for Investigative Reporting in collaboration with the Hermes Center for Transparency and Digital Human Rights, notes it differs from WikiLeaks.
The site explains WikiLeaks publishes the information it receives directly, while afriLeaks is conversely a "highly secure mailbox connecting investigative media houses to whistle-blowers". As a result, the documents shared are not published online, but rather form the start of a journalistic investigation.
Not without danger
WikiLeaks - the definitive whistleblowing site - has not been without controversy. Most recently, Icelandic computer hacker, Sigurdur Thordarsson - a former associate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange - pleaded guilty to embezzling $240 000 from the organisation.
The most publicised incident WikiLeaks is infamous for is when National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden used the site to leak sensitive US government secrets. Assange also came under the spotlight after he was wanted for questioning in a sexual assault case.
AfriLeaks notes leaking is "never without risk" but the portal tries, "as much as possible, to protect information and to provide information about the risks". It claims its system makes finding the source of a leak close to impossible. "That said, while trying to mitigate as much as possible, the whistle-blower and journalists are responsible for their own actions."
Connections to afriLeaks run through Tor networks, making the system slower, but safer, notes the portal.
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